Mouth guard retaining device

ABSTRACT

A mouth guard retaining device is provided for retaining a mouth guard against a protective helmet when the mouth guard is not in use. The device includes an elongated member having a connection device at a lower end for connection with a portion of the helmet and a detent or reversely folded portion at another end which is operable to displace the elongated member. The member is formed of synthetic plastic material which has a limited degree of flexure so that the member is displaceable between a normal closed condition where the detent engages the helmet and an open condition where the detent is spaced from the helmet to allow the user to insert or remove the mouth guard from the device.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.13/206,927 filed Aug. 10, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In many sporting competitions, the participants either elect or arerequired to wear mouth guards to protect the teeth, jaw, and tongue ofthe participant. Mouth guards are provided in various shapes, sizes andconfigurations and are formed of a wide variety of materials to providea number of alternatives to the participant depending on the sport beingplayed, the degree of protection desired, and the degree of comfort tothe user. For example, some mouth guards are formed of a syntheticrubber material and are designed for the user to bite onto the guard toprovide protection to the upper and lower teeth. These guards are notnecessarily fitted to the user and thus do not often provide the bestfit. Other guards are formed of synthetic plastic material. The guardsare heated to make them pliable and then the user bites into thesoftened material so that the guard is molded to the user's teeth toprovide a custom fit.

While mouth guards are very effective at affording protection to theuser's mouth, they often make it difficult for the participant tocommunicate with other participants. Accordingly, it is common forparticipants to remove their mouth guards when play is stopped. This canlead to mouth guards inadvertently being dropped onto the playingsurface where they may be contaminated or lost, particularly when themouth guard is dropped on an outdoor playing field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Many sports, such as football and lacrosse, require participants to weara helmet which includes a face mask. Participants often wedge theirmouth guards between the bars of the face mask in order to free theirhands to call plays or to hold a ball or stick. If the participant iswearing a helmet including a face mask, such as a football helmet orlacrosse helmet, it is common practice for the user to wedge the mouthguard between the bars of the mask. However, the mouth guard oftenbecomes dislodged from the mask and falls to the ground, sometimeswithout the user's knowledge.

Various devices are known in the art to retain a mouth guard on ahelmet. For example, some mouth guards include an integral strap whichis connected with the face mask of the helmet. When not in use, themouth guard dangles from the helmet. When in use, the guard is placedinto the user's mouth. However, the strap extends out from the mouthbetween the lips which can lead to discomfort. Moreover, straps areawkward for use with mouth guards of the type which afford protection tothe both the upper and lower teeth.

The present invention was developed in order to overcome these and otherdrawbacks by providing a helmet accessory in the form of a retainingclip which can securely hold any type of protective mouth guard when notin use by a participant in a sporting or other event.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea retaining device for a mouth guard in the form of an elongated memberhaving a connection device at one end of said elongated member forconnecting the member with a helmet and a detent at the other end of themember. The detent is operable by the user to displace the member from anormal closed position adjacent the helmet to an extended open positionspaced from the helmet. When in the extended position, the user canarrange the mouth guard between the member and the helmet. With thedetent released by the user, the member returns to its normal positionand the mouth guard is securely held in place. When the user desires toremove the mouth guard from the member, the user displaces the detent tomove the member to its extended position and the mouth guard can beremoved from between the member and the helmet. Once removed, the detentis released and the member returns to is normal position.

The elongated member is preferably formed of a resilient material suchas synthetic plastic. It is also provided with an extended portionbeyond the detent for gripping by the user to displace the detent fromthe normal position to the extended position.

In an alternative embodiment, the elongated member is reversely foldedto define a channel between the member and the reversely folded portion.The channel may serve multiple functions. First, the channel isconfigured to receive a mouth guard and may hold the mouth guard againstthe helmet. Alternatively, the reversely folded over portion engages thehelmet and cooperates with the channel and the elongated member toprovide increased flexibility to the retaining device. In the event ofimpact to the retaining device, the elongated member flexes into thechannel and absorbs the impact force thereby preventing the mouth guardfrom being dislodged from the retaining device.

According to a preferred embodiment, the connection device is acompression fitting. More particularly, the lower end of the elongatedmember contains a concave recess for receiving a portion of the helmetor face mask. At least one pair of aligned openings is provided in theportions of the connection device on opposite sides of the recess. Ascrew passes through the openings for drawing the connection deviceportions of the member together. When a portion of the helmet isarranged in the recess, the compression fitting clamps the elongatedmember on the helmet portion or on a face mask.

In a further embodiment, the elongated member further includes one ormore notches to permit air circulation and prevent the accumulation ofmoisture which leads to rotation of the retaining device on the facemask.

According to another embodiment, the connection device includes aprojection that engages an edge of the helmet to properly position theretaining device. More particularly, the projection positions theretaining device in spaced relation from the face mask and helmet andprevents the retaining device from rotating about the face mask and awayfrom the helmet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma study of the following specification when viewed in the light of theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a football helmet having a mouthguard retaining device according to the invention connected therewith;

FIG. 2 is a detailed front perspective view of the mouth guard retainingdevice according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the retaining device of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the retaining device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connection device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a front plan view of the mouth guard retaining deviceaccording to an alternative embodiment the invention;

FIG. 7 is a side plan view of the retaining device of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the retaining device of FIG. 6;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The mouth guard retaining device according to the invention will firstbe described with reference to FIG. 1 which shows a conventionalfootball helmet 2 having a face mask 4 connected therewith. The facemask is connected with the helmet in a known manner and includes aplurality of bars 6 which cooperate to protect the face of the wearerfrom injury. A chin strap 8 is connected with the helmet to hold thehelmet onto the head of the wearer.

A retaining device 10 according to the invention is connected with anupper bar 12 of the face mask to securely hold a mouth guard 14 againstthe helmet 2. As will be developed in greater detail below, theretaining device is displaceable relative to the helmet to secure andrelease the mouth guard.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-4, the retaining device 12 will be described ingreater detail. The device is formed as an elongated member 16 having aconnection device 18 at its lower end for connecting the member with thehelmet, and preferably with a portion of the face mask of the helmet. Adetent 20, which is shown more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, is provided atthe upper end of the member. The detent is operable by the user todisplace the member from a normal closed position adjacent the helmet asshown in FIG. 1 to an extended open position spaced from the helmet.When the elongated member is in the extended position, the user canplace the mouth guard between the member and the helmet. With the detentreleased by the user, the member returns to its normal position and themouth guard is securely held in place. When the user desires to removethe mouth guard from the member, the user displaces the detent to movethe member to its extended position and the mouth guard can be removedfrom between the member and the helmet. Once removed, the detent isreleased and the member returns to is normal position. To assist withdisplacing the detent, an extension 22 is provided on the upper end ofthe member 16 which can be engaged by a finger of the user to pull theupper end of the retaining member away from the helmet.

The elongated member is preferably formed of a resilient material with alimited degree of flexure. A suitable material is synthetic plastic. Ithas a normal position, but may be bent or flexed from the normalposition when an external force is applied. When the force is removed,the material reverts or springs back to its normal position.

The connection device 18 is a preferably a compression fitting which isshown in detail in FIG. 5. More particularly, the lower end of theelongated member 16 contains a concave recess 24 which extends laterallyof the member. The recess thus separates two lower portions 18 a and 18b of the connection device. A through opening 26 is provided in oneportion 18 a of the connection device. A threaded opening 28 is providedin the other portion 18 b of the connection device on the opposite sideof the recess 24. The openings 26 and 28 are aligned and receive a screw30. If desired, the connection device 18 contains a second throughopening 32 in the portion 18 a and a second threaded opening 34 in theportion 18 b and aligned with the opening 32 for receiving a secondscrew 36. With the screws removed, the portions 18 a and 18 b of theconnection device may be separated to allow a portion of the helmet, orpreferably a bar of the face mask, to be arranged in the recess. Thescrews 30 and 36 are inserted and tightened relative to the respectivethreaded openings 28 and 34 to draw the portion 18 b of the connectiondevice toward the portion 18 a to clamp the elongated member on thehelmet portion via a compression fit.

A projection 38 extends rearwardly from the elongated member 16 as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4. The projection abuts against the helmet as does thedetent when the retaining device is in the normal position. It alsoprovides structural stability to the retaining device and acts as aguide or stop for the mouth guard when it is arranged between theretaining device and the helmet.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-8, an alternative embodiment of the retainingdevice 110 according to the invention will now be described. The deviceis formed as an elongated member 116 having a connection device 118 atits lower end for connecting the member with the helmet, and preferablywith a portion of the face mask of the helmet. The elongated memberincludes a reversely folded portion 122 which defines a channel 140between the elongated member and the folded portion. The folded portion122 normally engages the helmet and prevents a mouth guard from beingdisplaced vertically as will be developed below.

As in the embodiment of FIGS. 2-5, the retaining device is preferablyformed of a resilient material such as synthetic plastic with a limiteddegree of flexure.

The connection device 118 is a preferably a compression fitting. Thelower end of the elongated member 116 contains a lateral concave recess124 which separates two lower portions 118 a and 118 b of the connectiondevice. Through openings 126,132 are provided in one portion 118 a ofthe connection device and threaded openings 128, 134 are provided in theother portion 118 b of the connection device on the opposite side of therecess 124. Screws are inserted and tightened relative to the respectivethreaded openings 128 and 134 to draw the portion 118 b of theconnection device toward the portion 118 a to clamp the elongated memberon the helmet portion via a compression fit.

The elongated member 116 is contoured to include a convex or contouredprojection 138 extending generally opposite the reversely folded portion122 as shown in FIG. 7. The projection 138 defines a swale 142intermediate the connection device 118. The swale receives a mouth guardand the projection acts as a guide or stop for the mouth guard when itis arranged between the retaining device and the helmet. The flexure ofthe reversely folded portion absorbs and dissipates impact forcesagainst the retaining device to prevent the mouth guard from beingunintentionally dislodged. In addition, the free end 122 a of thereversely folded portion further limits vertical displacement of a mouthguard arranged in the swale. The biasing force of the retaining devicepresses the elongated member and the projection against the mouth guardto pin the mouth guard against the helmet and store it during a stoppagein play. In order to remove the mouth guard, the upper end 122 b of thereversely folded portion is pulled away from the helmet and the userpulls the mouth guard from between the retaining device and the helmet.

Depending on the width of the channel 140, the retaining device of FIGS.6-8 may be used to retain a mouth guard within the channel 140. Becauseof the resiliency of the gripping device, the user can grasp the upperend of the elongated member, pull it away from the helmet, and wedge amouth guard into the channel. The natural tendency of the grippingdevice to return to its normal position causes the reversely foldedportion 122 to retain the mouth guard within the channel because of thepressure created by the reversely folded portion against the elongatedmember. Similarly, the entire assembly holds the mouth guard—which is inthe channel—against the helmet because of the force exerted by theextended member in the direction of the helmet as it returns to itsnormal position.

The retaining device further includes a plurality of notches 144, 146which serve two functions. The first is to enhance the flexibility ofthe device during installation, when extending and releasing theelongated member 116 and in the event of impact to the device. Thesecond is to allow for the flow of air which aids in the reduction ofany accumulated moisture between the retaining device and the face mask.An accumulation of moisture may cause the retaining device to rotate onthe face mask.

As shown more particularly in FIGS. 7 and 8, one of the lower portionsof the connection device 118 b includes a projection 144 having ageneral T-shaped configuration, although other configurations may beprovided. When the retaining device is clamped on the facemask, theupper surface of the projection engages an edge of the helmet andoperates to prevent the retaining device from rotating about the facemask and away from the helmet.

While the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art that various changes and modifications may be madewithout deviating from the inventive concepts set forth above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clip for retaining a mouth guard against ahelmet including a face mask, comprising an elongated member formed ofresilient material and operable between normal and extended positions,said elongated member including (a) a connection device at one end forclamping said member onto a portion of a helmet face mask; (b) areversely folded portion at another end of said elongated member; and(c) a convex projection extending from said elongated memberintermediate said connection device and said reversely folded portion todefine a swale for receiving a mouth guard, whereby when said member isin the extended position, a mouth guard may be inserted or removed fromsaid swale and when member is returned to the normal position, saidmember retains the mouth guard against the helmet.
 2. A retaining deviceas defined in claim 1, wherein said elongated member is formed ofsynthetic plastic material.
 3. A retaining device as defined in claim 2,wherein said connection device comprises a compression fitting.
 4. Aretaining device as defined in claim 4, wherein said compression fittingincludes a concave recess for receiving a portion of the face mask.
 5. Aretaining device as defined in claim 5, wherein said compression fittingfurther comprises at least one pair of aligned openings within portionsof said connection device on opposite sides of said recess and a screwpassing through said openings for drawing said connection deviceportions together, whereby when a portion of the face mask is arrangedin said recess, said compression fitting is operable to clamp saidelongated member on the face mask portion.
 6. A retaining device asdefined in claim 1, wherein said reversely folded portion defines achannel for receiving a mouth guard.
 7. A retaining device as defined inclaim 1, wherein said connection device includes a rearward projectionarranged adjacent to an edge of the helmet to prevent the retainingdevice from rotating about the face mask and away from the helmet.
 8. Aretaining device as defined in claim 1, wherein said retaining deviceincludes at least a notch in said connection device on either side ofsaid elongated member to enhance air circulation and preventaccumulation of moisture.